Commercial Solar

Why Empower Energy Recommend Solar Power To Our Commercial Clients?

With Commercial Solar photovoltaic system technology evolving and as growth continues worldwide for renewable generation alternatives, solar and other form of renewables will continue to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. We know by using Solar our Clients see immediate reductions in energy costs, benefiting from generous ROI & meeting sustainably commitments. Empower Energy offer a full turnkey solution from Project management, design, performance calculations, modelling, planning, installation and commissioning.

Commercial Solar - The Right Technology For Your Project?

SolarEdge technology. Why would you contemplate investing in this type of technology for your organisation? When considering long term renewable projects such as Solar, the technology behind the system is crucial insuring efficiency and performance. SolarEdge offers this and so much more. http://www.solaredge.com/solutions/commercial

MPPT per module - current & voltage adjusted per module

Maximum power from each module individually

2%-25% more energy from the PV system

Up to 11.25kWp per string

Power Optimisers Enable Installation Of

Modules in shaded areas

Strings of uneven lengths

Modules in multiple orientations and different roof faces on a single string

More power

More revenue

Commercial Solar

Case Studies

Leathams

In September 2014 Leathams a prestigious food supply company chose Empower to install a 250kWp Solar PV System at its London headquarters. The positioning of the panels provided a continuous feed of free electricity to the building and refrigerators.

Key Facts

Covers Group

Empower was originally commissioned to undertake the maintenance of 512KWp of PV systems. Empower examined the systems and found various ways of improving the output. This was in the form of fault finding as well as a centralised monitoring system.

Module-Level Performance Monitoring & Remote Maintenance Lead To:

Free Module-Level Monitoring For System Lifetime

We supply our Clients with advanced commercial solar monitoring software to keep track of your system's performance. Wherever you are in the world, the platform can be accessed through the internet via your smart phone, ensuring you keep up to date with your systems performance.

Real-time full insight to system from anywhere

Easy access via web browser and mobile device

Remote monitoring and data logging

Generation and export meter remote monitoring

Email and text alerts

Future Compatibility & Warranty

We only use approved, high quality components, from tier-one panels, the highest efficiency inverters and right down to the nuts and bolts. This means that your commercial solar system will perform to its maximum potential for years to come.

12-year warranty as standard

Upgradable software as technology develops

Flexible design allows modules of different power classes and brands in the same string

Lifetime free monitoring

25-year power optimiser warranty

Enhanced Safety

The SolarEdge system architecture relies upon the inverter constantly communicating with the power optimiser behind each module to generate and send it down to the inverter. In the event that the SolarEdge inverter is turned off, the optimisers stop receiving these signals and cut off the bulk of the power on the roof, bringing each module down to a safe 1 volt.

In the event of a fire this is an excellent feature because when the fire service cut off AC power to the property, the inverter shuts down and stops communicating making the power optimisers and modules shut down. This means that there will not be any high voltage DC cables on the roof– one less concern for the fire-fighter. We are committed to achieving the highest standards of health, safety and environmental practice.

No high VDC during installation or maintenance. Power optimisers and DC cables
automatically de-energise when inverter is disconnected or grid power is shut down

Automatically de-energise when inverter is disconnected or grid power is shut down

Remote diagnostics reduces work at dangerous heights

Only inverter certified to IEC 60947 as a disconnection means and to VDE 2100-712

Better suited for future insurance requirements

Is My Building Suitable ?

There are many contributing factors to a systems’ effectiveness, such as location, angle, shading etc. By far the best way to check is to have one of our experienced commercial solar surveyors visit you personally and prepare a no obligation report and quotation. Not only will this highlight your system options, it will also show the estimated generation that you can expect from your system based on accurate details prior to installation, instead of averages and ‘best case’ figures.

What Will My System Look Like ?

We’ve installed hundreds of systems of every size and will tailor a tried and tested solution with the minimum impact to your business.
Installations can take as little as one day and you’ll notice immediate changes to your bills.

Solar Installations Modelling & Design

Solar Design Software

Our proposal is calculated based on several key factors including geographical location, orientation and inclination. We use state-of-the-art digital equipment to model your proposed commercial solar system: PV Sol Expert. This is the industry-leading simulation software that enables 3D visualisation and accurate shading analysis. This program considers every factor including the site´s orientation to south, angle of the pitch, and the efficiency of the proposed modules and inverters. The software measures the last 10 years of local meteorological data to give the most comprehensive performance prediction possible.

The Devil Is Really In The Detail?

We use PV Sol Expert advanced planning software to get the very best from your installation before we touch a single cable. This helps us take into account every variable that could impact on the performance of your system both now, and in the future. It helps us with problems such as:

Precisely customise surrounding objects with great accuracy to give you a complete and accurate picture of your solar setup.

Produce a 3D animation of shading over a day or a year.

Energy Performance Certification

Commercial energy performance certificates are required to claim the highest rate feed-In-tariff for photovoltaic solar systems if energy is used for heating/cooling within a commercial premises. This means that some of the typical commercial buildings that house PV systems will require them and others won't. If you are unsure of where your building falls within this legislation, feel free to get in touch for further advice.

Where A Commercial EPC is Required, Empower Energy Arrange This For You

Full trained EPC assessors

Detailed response

Recommendations & advice

Calculation of U values of building effiency

To Get Your SBEM Assessment, Empower Take Care Of The Following:

Full details of floor plans, including building elevations, and sections - either send printed copies of plans by post to the assessor, or alternatively email drawings in .dwg or .dxf Autocad file format.

All rooms and areas to be clearly labelled on drawings, this is used to identify the activities associated with each area (for example: offices, toilets, restaurant, lobby, hotel bedroom, gym, classroom, reception, store, warehouse, loading area etc.) General details of the building, including the building type (e.g. office block, hotel, leisure centre, restaurant, shop, library, supermarket etc.), your full address, client details, building orientation, etc.

Full details of specification for the construction of floors, walls, ceilings, roofs, and finishes - you will need to supply either the k values of all building materials used in the construction, or the make and trade name of each material used in the construction of the building fabric (e.g. Thermalite Turbo).

Any Accredited Construction Details (for the avoidance of thermal bridging).

Design air permeability of building and/or building zones. Semi-exposed construction to unheated areas such as entrance lobbies, corridors, garages, basements Full window and door specifications, including frame material, width of gap, and emissivity of glass, solar shading from overhangs, mullions, etc.

Full details and types of heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, fuel types, and outline control details of the heating and/or air conditioning system.

Full details of plant, such as boilers, chillers, heat pumps, etc., including make and model (if known), or the generic type of items of plant.

Hot water system specification, including calorifier size, insulation to cylinder and pipes, and controls).

Details of metering, automatic monitoring and targeting systems, associated with fuel metering, gas, electricity and water usage. (As part of asset and operational ratings).

Equipment & Warranties

Empower Energy offer market leading warranties as standard. Our premium solution offers one of the best free for the life time monitoring portals within the market place today, allowing full transparency and an understanding on what your system is generating in real time.

With Solar panel warranties, it’s important to understand how each panel is performing and will allow for a greater understanding on the performance of each panel. Typically, Solar Panels have two warranties, a 10-year product warranty which covers the panel should any failure occur and also a 20-year performance warranty.

Solaredge Live Monitoring System

Empower Case Study

Nisbets, Bristol

Frequently Asked Questions

There are 3 types of technology utilised in the solar panels available on the market today, these are monocrystalline, polycrystalline, and thin film amorphous.

Should I use monocrystalline, Polycrystaline or Thin Film?

In our humble opinion the choice between monocrystalline and polycrystalline solar panels is not something that you should lose too much sleep over when looking to purchase solar panels. It is more important that you choose a good brand of solar panel from a company that invests heavily in the quality of their manufacturing process and reputation.

Thin film is a totally different technology. It is much less efficient and therefore uses much more roof space. Its one advantage is that it performs better in low light conditions, when there is partial shading of the system or in extreme heat. We don’t generally supply thin film panels.

What does PV mean ?

PV is short for Photovoltaic which comes from Latin: Photo, meaning light + Voltaic meaning Energy.

Why should I invest in solar energy ?

Solar Energy harnesses the natural power of the sun, not only does it mean the electricity you are using is clean because fossils fuels aren't burned to make it, it is also renewable and abundant. You can also save money as you are not forking on ever increasing energy bills.

How much do solar panels cost ?

This does depend on a lot of variables but generally it is around £1-£1.20 per watt up to 50KW and 90p-£1.00 per watt up to 250KW. Contact us now for a free no-obligation survey to find out more.

Is solar still a good investment ?

Yes! Solar is still a great investment, for commercial systems we always design our systems around your energy usage to maximise the financial benefits. The price of energy will continue to rise. Solar energy will ‘futureproof’ your company against this.

How much energy does a solar array produce ?

Each kWp of solar PV will produce anywhere from 800 to 1200kWh per year. There are a lot of factors which determine this figure but we can produce an accurate estimation based on historic weather conditions at that location and the system specifics such as pitch of the roof and which way it faces.

Does the roof have to face South?

No, panels can face any direction apart from North. The yield on a south facing system is traditionally higher, however an East/West array will generally produce a lower yield but more evenly throughout the day.

What is an Inverter?

Solar panels produce what is called Direct Current or DC for short. An Inverter’s job is to take the DC current and transform it into a power source that you can use; Alternating current (AC for short)